Thursday, February 5, 2009

Medford officials frustrated by EOT's Green Line announcement


Many local officials were frustrated that the EOT’s recommendation was announced only a few hours before Monday’s Green Line Advisory Group (GLAG) meeting.

“It didn’t really give us time to react,” said Medford City Councilor Frederick Dello Russo, a member of the group.

Others saw it as a way of saying the EOT had made up its mind from the beginning.

“To me it appears that Mr. Aloisi made an announcement that was already foregone,” said City Councilor Robert Penta.

On a snowy Monday afternoon residents and project advisors from Medford, Somerville and Arlington made it to the GLAG meeting at St. Clement’s High School. Speakers voiced concerns to the EOT on issues of noise mitigation, the health effects of diesel particulates, federal funding, land taking and a number of others.

The EOT has mentioned on several occasions that land taking would probably be necessary for the extension project. To what extent land will be taken is a gray area, but it is generally understood that only small slivers of land would be needed from properties up to the terminus, where larger land takings will be far more likely.

When the time comes for land acquisitions to be vetted, LaVita said the MBTA will send out survey teams, hire independent appraisers and make offers to the owners of whatever properties it needs.

“The process generally takes about six months to actually acquire that land,” said LaVita. “But only the MBTA board of directors can authorize the permanent acquisition of land that is needed for a development project.”

If a property owner does not like the offer, the MBTA will still take the land under its Chapter 161 eminent domain powers. In this case the property owner has up to three years to accept the offer, or hire an attorney and negotiate.

LaVita said the MBTA does provide relocation assistance where needed.

Unlike a number of previous meetings, land taking was not as central an issue. A majority in attendance voiced concerns regarding the EOT’s commitment to mitigating the many difficulties to be brought about by widening the existing railway and sending trains through it more than five times per hour.

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